When I accept tools for review I agree to test them in real shop use for at least 20 hours. This doesn’t sound like a long time and in many cases it’s considerably more than necessary. Twenty hours of sharpening with a new system is a bit much but this is what we choose to do to find potential flaws in a tool.

Over the last five months we have tested a new set of diamond stones from M-Power Tools. The generously sized new 8” Diamond Cross Bench Stones are wonderfully made as are most of the tools we have tested from M Power. In this lot were a set of double sided, laminated diamond plates with a 300 grit coarse side and a 1000 grit fine side, along with a couple of double side files and cards with a 300 grit coarse side and a 600 grit fine side.

In the world of woodworking, situations often arise where we are asked to build, or help with the building of homes, sheds, and other structures, and when asked it is something we typically don’t shy away from. When we build homes with the current materials of the trades today we make a choice of what type of tools we will use and I have seen hundreds of tool Ideas come and go over the years. Some good, some OK, and occasionally something great in its class. In the latter category I would place the first worm drive Skill Saw (circular saw) and it soon found its way onto almost every jobsite. Later smaller men have switched to the sidewinder saws and while these are OK I would not consider them a great advancement. In fact circular saws have been in an innovative stagnant swamp for about 50 years with the only exception being the new track saws we love so much.

For several years now Rockwell has been developing good tools and we have enjoyed many of them. From the 3RILL 12V 3-in-1 Drill to the Sonicrafter F50 Oscillating Multi-Tool, we have found that the tools are very well built and offer good features at a fair price.

When I began the test on the DeWalt DWS 780 12” double bevel sliding compound miter saw the classic yellow and black colors carried with it a prejudice towards quality and durability due to my experience with their tools in the past. I did my best to clear these expectations from my mind in order to give this tool a proper test. So I pulled up my sleeves to tackle it with a clear mind and did my best to remove all expectations from my head.

The Dado is one of those commonplace cuts that add strength to joinery. As with most things all Dado sets are not created equal. The other saying that comes to mind is, you get what you pay for. Unfortunately this is all too true when it comes to Dado sets, as well as with most saw blades when you get right down to it.

Every once in a while I get to be pleasantly surprised by a new tool it actually works better than I expect. I have to say the new Double-Sided Dia-Sharp MagnaBase System from DMT was one of those times. After a recent review on the lapping plate I have to say I should not be surprised by the performance of other DMT products but this set has risen the bar on what I would expect from diamond sharpening all together. These plates are well constructed and I was provided with two 12 inch x 3 inch double-sided plates and a single base.